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The Planners’ Toolkit contains dozens of tools that are designed to achieve a myriad of Smart Growth objectives. To assist with finding the most appropriate tools, the Toolkit includes a search capability that makes site navigation easier, gives users more control, and reveals related information. The Planners’ Toolkit search function allows users to search by key terms, the 12 Blueprint Smart Growth Principles, and community type.

The California Community Redevelopment Act was
enacted in 1945 to give local governments the tools necessary to address
problems such as blight, degraded buildings, and a lack of housing. While the
Act is now known as Community Redevelopment Law (CRL), the goals of...

California State law requires each
city and county to adopt a general plan “for the physical development of a
county or city, and any land outside its boundaries which bears relation to its
planning” (§65300). The California Supreme Court has called the general plan the
“...

The specific plan is a planning tool typically
used to plan a particular portion of a city or county. Often a specific plan is used by a public
agency to implement the general plan in selected areas of the community
requiring special planning attention. A...

Zoning
is the division of a city or county into districts for the purpose of
regulating land use and development standards.
The typical zoning ordinance regulates land use by dividing the
community into districts or “zones” and specifying the uses that are to be...

The Subdivision Map Act regulates the division
of land in California. The Act requires
that all land divisions be approved by the city or county in which they are
located. Each city and county must adopt
a subdivision ordinance regulating land division...

SB 375 (Steinberg, 2008) brings together land
use, housing, and transportation planning in order to reduce greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions. This law requires all
Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) to update their Regional Transportation
Plans (RTPs) and prepare...

AB 170 (Reyes, 2003) requires each city and county within the
jurisdictional boundaries of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control
District to either adopt an air quality element or amend appropriate elements
of their general plan to include data and analysis,...

SB 610 (Costa, 2001) requires additional information to be included as part
of an urban water management plan if groundwater is identified as a source of
water available to the supplier. This
law also requires an urban water supplier to include in the plan a...

AB 1358 (Leno, 2008) requires, beginning
January 1, 2011, cities and counties, upon any substantive revision to their
circulation elements, to plan for a balanced multi-modal transportation network
that meets the needs of all users of streets, roads, and highways, including...

Planning in California is governed and directed by an ever evolving and changing body of legislation and case law. At the heart of these laws are those establishing requirements for general plans, specific plans, zoning, land division, redevelopment, and environmental...

The Valley Blueprint Planners Toolkit is a unique web-based
collaborative and interactive planning resource focused on communities in the
San Joaquin Valley. However, the
Planners Toolkit is not the only planning-related toolkit available. Many other...

SB 244 (Wolk, 2011) requires
cities and counties to address the infrastructure needs of unincorporated
disadvantaged communities in city and county general plans and LAFCo Municipal
Service Reviews (MSRs) and annexation decisions. SB 244 defines an unincorporated...

A joint initiative of San Joaquin Valley Councils of Governments representing each of the region's eight counties, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, the Great Valley Center, and the Fresno State Community and Regional Planning Center